


who was i

by snowquail



Series: the sea breeze carries a happy tune (watcher seren) [1]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Amnesia, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23555011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowquail/pseuds/snowquail
Summary: For all Aloth and Eder had recounted to Seren following their amnesia resulting from the destruction of Caed Nua, he supposes they hadn't really been told whattheywere like, as a person.
Series: the sea breeze carries a happy tune (watcher seren) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695343
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	who was i

**Author's Note:**

> seren is a nature godlike cipher, primarily kind and clever! more about them, including a physical reference, can be found here: (https://astrocassette.tumblr.com/tagged/watcher-seren/chrono)

“Aloth?” Seren spoke up, breaking the crackling silence around the fire. They’d made land on an uncharted island, cleared it of drakes and xaurips, and had settled into an easy camp tucked into a rock formation. The rest of their companions slept a few steps further out from the fire, Maia tucked neatly into her bedroll while Xoti and Rekke lay sprawled over theirs.

“Mm?” The wizard belatedly looked up from his seat on a rock where he had been peering down at his grimoire in the firelight.

On the ground, Seren shuffled their knees closer to their body, and regarded him with a hesitant pensive frown. “What… was I like? Before?”

Aloth blinked, surprised, and almost immediately sad, though he managed to hide it decently. “Oh. You…? Hm.” He looked down into the fire. “I suppose that wouldn’t be a focus when catching you up.”

Seren hugged their knees just a little bit tighter as they watched Aloth work through his thoughts.

“Well… looking at most things, you were much the same as you are now. Kind, sincere, perceptive. Wanting to help people.” He chanced a glance back up at them, and he was sure that he wasn’t imagining that they’d appeared to have relaxed some at that, though their pensive expression remained. His gaze flicked to the side as he chewed on whether or not to reveal his next thought. They were nothing but honest, though, and it was something he admired, so, “I think… you were somewhat wiser, before this. Or, at least, you were when we parted ways.”

Thankfully, after a few seconds, Seren simply gave a small nod. “...Understandable. I’ve lost a lot of experiences,” they said quietly, and Aloth felt the tension loosen from his shoulders, a rueful smile creeping up on his face. Of course they’d take his meaning.

“Ye’ve certainly kept the rest a’ yer wits about’cha though, lass, that’s fer sure,” Iselmyr piped up with a nod, and Seren looked up, surprised for a moment, and then broke into a bashful smile, looking back down to twirl patterns in the dirt with their finger.

She grinned. “ _ And _ ye cant just as much as ye did before, too. A right songbird, you are, ‘n always ‘ave been!” And with that, Aloth cleared his throat, a little bashful himself, but then gave an admitting nod. 

“She is right, you’ve been quite musical for as long as I’ve known you, even more so now here in the Deadfire, what with the sea shanties,” he said, finally closing his grimoire over his arm, and then after a moment gave a small wistful sigh. “You used to sing with Kana during our travels just about every other day we were on the road. Epics, lullabies, drinking songs. Anything you could remember, I’m sure. At times it could get a bit tiring, but... most often it was nice.”

Seren hummed, looking thoughtfully into the fire, fingers stilled. “You’ll have to teach me some of the songs again. ...You or Eder, if you’re not the type to sing.”

He blinked, but then huffed with a smile. “Hm. You’re right on that account. Singing is... not really my forte.”

They hummed and gave him an assessing smile, conveying “ _ Somehow, I’m not surprised, _ ” without saying a word, and after a moment, quiet save for the crackling fire, they looked up towards the stars.

Aloth paused, passively considering his friend in the firelight. It was strange how they’d changed since when he’d left them, since they’d ended up with amnesia. Oh, they were still Seren, preferring talking things out over fighting, liking pausing to take in the scenery, finding joy in the little things, but there were some differences. Things they did that they hadn’t done before. Seren now favored a mace with their wand instead of a dagger, liked taking last watch instead of first, collected gemstones instead of selling them, just small things, and he wondered what they’d lost, what had kept them from doing those things before.

“Thank you for telling me, Aloth,” they said, gently, and he realized he’d spaced out and that they had looked back down at him. “I know it’s probably… weird. And… thank you for sticking with me, too.”

A myriad of feelings bubbled up, but in the end he settled with equal parts sadness and equal parts fondness. Of  _ course  _ he’d stick with them. They were friends, whether Seren remembered their past or not. “Believe me, I am glad to.”


End file.
